Strangers Like Me
by SliverOfHope
Summary: "I see myself as people see me. Oh, I just know there's something bigger out there." An Absol/Leafeon fic, titled after the Phil Collins song of the same name after I discovered that the song fit this fic perfectly.


**Author's notes**: A fanfiction I started ages ago and just got around to finishing. C:  
_Rated**:**_ K+  
_Pairing_**:** Absol/Leafeon  
_Disclaimer**:**_ I don't own Pokémon. I just own the characterizations I wove.  
I got the name from the song from Tarzan after having all of this written and my iPod randomly shuffling to the song. XD It was hilarious. My reaction was absolutely priceless. :3  
Anyway! :D Thanks for reading!

* * *

The rain was coming down in sheets, battering any Pokémon that dared to peek their head out from their home. The sky swam with grey clouds that were turning and spinning in a tumult of wind and water. Thunder boomed and rattled the icy air. Lightning arched across the sky, reaching deep into the clouds and back out again. The flashes lit up a small village, casting eerie shadows on the walls of dens and the ground. The lack of heat caused wet fur to congeal with ice, so not a single soul was out and about, except for a lean body of white and black lurking on the outskirts of the village.

It skulked around, seemingly searching for something. Its white fur that shielded its eyes from sight hid its face as well. A huff of milky white steam came from its mouth and a voice, a male one, swore. He was hungry; that much was certain, but he didn't seem inclined to ask a villager for a place to stay or for a warm meal to eat. Instead, he seemed to gravitate away from the rough, circular windows and thatched dens, closer to the shadows and darkness. There, he could blend in.

A malicious look crossed his features and it dawned on him that it would be much easier to simply steal something from a villager than ask for it and have them turn him away simply for being the Disaster Pokémon. It wasn't his usual style, but he figured that it'd be nice to not be attacked for once. What harm was it in simply causing a moronic villager to faint?

As he was deliberating on the junction of two dirt roads, a petite, vibrant green Leafeon sprinted past, panting and grumbling about the horridly cold weather. She skidded past the Absol, sending mud onto his white coat.

The Absol snarled as the mud slipped off of his fur. He tensed his muscles and crouched. Almost instantly, he sprang forwards, directly at the unaware Leafeon. The moment she sensed a presence behind her was a moment too late. The Absol had her stunned and pinned to the wet ground in almost a matter of milliseconds- a predator catching its prey.

Of course, the Leafeon put up a struggle, flailing and kicking and biting and attempting to fire a Shadow Ball at the Absol. Absol, however, pressed a paw on the underside of Leafeon's side, hitting a pressure point that left her dizzy and disarmed. She quivered underneath him, eyes wide.

"I don't taste good, you know. So there's no point in eating me!" she squeaked.

Absol rolled his eyes. "I don't want to _eat_ you. I just want to _rob_ you."

"Well I don't have anything, you creep, so get off of me!" Leafeon's tail, glowing a fluorescent green, crept up to Absol's side and struck him hard with a powerful Leaf Blade. He staggered, and Leafeon took the moment he was distracted to leap up and use Giga Impact at the ground to break it into pointy, jagged pieces. The ground rumbled and at Absol's feet, it cracked and shook immensely. The sharp, broken ground jabbed at his paws and legs. He danced backwards, getting further from Leafeon. She let off an Energy Ball, and then ran.

Absol sliced the attack in half with a flick of his head, his horn cutting cleanly through it. He growled, and then sprinted after Leafeon, readying a Razor Wind to hit her with.

"Get away from me!" Leafeon yelled once as Absol was trailing closely behind her. She tried to run faster, but her legs were shorter and much less distance than her pursuers. She was easily overtaken. Absol came to a halt so close to Leafeon, that she didn't get a chance to slow down. Absol released his Razor Wind before the green fox could dodge. It smacked her head on, and she tumbled hear-over-heels into a stack of roof straw that was learning against the wood smith's shop.

Leafeon saw stars. It felt as if her chest and front legs were on fire. The stinging sensation reached her shoulders and a few inches down the ridge of her back. She sighed in defeat and mewled weakly.

Absol approached her, his eyes hard and emotionless.

"I'll take you to my den, just please don't attack me anymore." Leafeon's pleas were soft and submissive. Her eyes were watering and her torso heaved, her lungs straining to absorb more oxygen. Her tail lifted a centimeter or so and flopped back onto pointy straw. She closed her eyes and shivered. The rain poured harder than ever.

Cocking his head, Absol looked at Leafeon. He was suspicious shed attack again, but after taking another look, he retracted the thought.

"Your den. Now," he grumbled, nudging Leafeon with his paw roughly.

Shakily, she stood. Her legs wobbled while her brain stressed for a decent battle strategy. Nothing she knew would be strong enough to stun Absol, but if she could just get him to hold still…

She fainted on top of him.

Absol flailed, a shocked look on his face. "What the-?" He laid her down on some grass, and then inspected her. There was no way his attack did _this_. Sure, it was powerful, but not _that_ powerful.

Suddenly, Leafeon's eyes snapped open and she let out a loud, but soothing whistle from her mouth.

Absol barely had enough time to clamp his paws over his ears before the Grasswhistle attack surrounded his entire body. He growled, backing away from Leafeon, mentally congratulating her strategy.

Before giving him a break, Leafeon readied a powerful Leaf Blade and attacked. It missed, but it caused Absol to back off even more.

He grinned wide. He'd already given up on getting to Leafeon's den and staling her food, but he was happy to oblige to and enjoy a battle. It was too bad Leafeon wouldn't win. Absol noticed that the train had ceased. Without a second thought, he blasted the grass type with a Flamethrower. A scream filled Absol's ears and he felt a swift punch of guilt in his chest as he realized that he'd probably severely hurt the grass fox. Something in his mind chided his recklessness and merciless attack. It was so unfamiliar, the shock of having it there made him jump.

The flames died down and what was left was a steaming mess of unconscious Leafeon and charred grass. Absol contemplated leaving her there, but something almost irritating convinced him otherwise. He hoisted her up onto his back, carrying her for a solid twenty minutes before gingerly putting her down on a stream bank. He scooped some cool water into a big leaf cup and dumped it on her body. He did this three or four times before dashing off into the forest to find Sitrus berries and a Lum berry. It took some time, but amid all the forest greenery and efflorescence, Absol managed to find them.

'_Why_,' he thought, '_am I wasting my time with this? Why do I care?'_ It wasn't in his nature to care about much else aside from himself. That personality trait spawned from being dubbed the Chaos Pokémon as a self-defense type thing. People and other Pokémon alike dreaded his presence and would go to extremes to chase him off. It was only natural that he cut himself off emotionally and turn cold as stone and ice.

But for some reason, this girl defied his ability to not care about another soul. He found himself wanting - needing - to help her, especially since he'd been the one to cause her pain. So he crushed up the berries and mixed them with the stream water in the leaf cup and fed the smoothie-like medicine to her. He then skulked into a darker part of the clearing, out of the grass fox's sight.

Leafeon reflexively swallowed, coughing a bit afterward. She regained consciousness shortly after the medicine settled. Opening her heavy eyes groggily, she took in her surroundings. She failed to notice Absol stealthily hidden in the shadows, just as he had planned.

"Wh-where am I now?" She glanced around anxiously, expecting Absol to leap out at her at any moment. She waited, sensing nothing - though her intuition was quite untrustworthy due to the beating she took earlier - and then stood up.

She wasn't dizzy, burned, or aching, and she felt replenished and fresh. Her body shone a vibrant green and released a sweet and pleasant aroma that signified health and well-being. Leafeon took note of the fruity flavor leftover in her mouth, and the lack of thirst as well as her damp fur.

"Hello? Is anyone around here?" Leafeon circled around in the clearing a bit before resting on her haunches.

Absol watched her the whole time, partially entranced by her confusion and partially by her movements. They were fluid, like grass waving in the breeze, and Absol would have considered it beautiful had he had the capability and scope to understand beauty. His being enchanted made him lose his cover.

Almost immediately, Leafeon assumed an offensive stance, preparing to attack. It was then that Absol decided to fully reveal himself, but in a neutral way so as not to start another one-sided battle. The girl _was_ still recovering, after all.

"I'm not going to hurt you now," he said calmly, slowly.

Leafeon sniffed. "Oh yes. I'm going to believe you. Of course I will! " She laughed sardonically. "Sure."

Absol retreated a bit. He knew that Leafeon's mistrust of him was sanctioned and just. He, however, for a reason even he couldn't determine, wanted to make amends with the grass fox. He softened his eyes and face to what he hoped was a more gentle expression, almost pouting.

"No one stays around me this long," he murmured. "They all run away or try to hurt me when they see me."

Leafeon became aware of the webs and trees of scars lining and slightly distorting Absol's face. She was sure there would be more disfigurations on the rest of his body. That, however, would not suffice as a reason for hurting her. Though, it piqued her curiosity about Absol a hair.

"Well _you_ tried to hurt and rob _me_, so I can see why people harass you first," Leafeon commented bitterly.

Growling, Absol retorted with, "Everyone else is the reason I'm like this." He stomped a paw harshly. "It's not the other way around." His whole body tensed tight, and then soon relaxed as he calmed down. His dark face seemed to lighten as Leafeon's smoothed into a sympathetic half smile.

"Well, acting like a jerk and mugging people doesn't exactly help your case all too much, just to let you know," responded Leafeon. She swished her tail slightly; stirring some leaves into a cyclone shape before letting them drift back to the ground. "What did you expect?"

Absol seemed to shrug, looking somewhat ashamed. "I'm not sure. It just seemed logical at the time, I guess."

Leafeon decided that Absol had a crippling lack of social skills. She sighed and sat down again.

"What?" Absol questioned, tilting his head and edging close to Leafeon. He secretly hoped she wouldn't run off. This was the first time in a long time that anyone had remained to talk to him civilly. He wanted to know more about the Pokémon who had the courage to stay near him and actually listen to what he had to say. He _needed_ to know more.

Leafeon smiled at him. Actually smiled. A _real_ smile. It shocked both her and Absol. She laughed a little. "You're just interesting; like a puzzle I need to solve."

"A puzzle?" Absol edged even closer to her. He was nearly a foot away. "Why's that?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure myself. I just… want to know more, I guess. I don't really know." Looking sheepish, she added, "Does that make sense?"

He nodded at her, eyes flickering curiously. "You want to know more? About me?" Without waiting for a response, he said, "I guess I can tell you, but," he paused, hanging his head submissively, "will you tell me about yourself, first?"

Leafeon was willing to do so, but she wasn't sure why he wanted to know about her. What had she done that warranted an intense interest? Was Absol really that starved for attention and company that he needed to know the most mundane details of her life? She took a deep breath, casting a kind gaze at Absol, and started at the beginning, all the while watching as Absol, eyes wide and wondering, drank in every last detail and fact as if they were life-sustaining substances.

Absol had so many questions. What's a trainer? What is a Pokémon Center and are there really humans who will help you heal? Are there other Absol who are loved by trainers and other Pokémon? Where was Floraroma Town and did it really smell as pleasant as its name claimed? Were there really that many other kinds of Pokémon? How did she know them all? Did she have a trainer? How many types of humans were there? How big was the world? When could she show him places that he'd never seen before?

Leafeon answered them all with a smile, even when the sun set and darkness overtook the forest, and Absol found himself even more entranced with her than before. He was caught up in the need to know more and be closer to her, and it all confused him. He didn't know what he was feeling or why, but he knew that he was starting to like it. Immensely. He wasn't sure he'd ever want to give up this feeling.

"What's wrong, Absol?" Leafeon asked. She angled her head to the side and looked at him quizzically.

He didn't know how to put it into words. His emotions were so new to him; he couldn't find phrases to describe them. He stuttered out a rushed and shouted, "L-let me stay with you!"

She colored and chuckled. "Are you sure? I'm around so many other Pokémon and humans. Do you want to put yourself into a situation like that?" She seemed to want him with her, but she didn't make it clear.

"Others?" Absol asked.

The grass fox nodded. "Yes, others. Are you positive?"

The idea was tantalizing and almost too fantastical to be reality: him with this girl, out in the world, together.

Of course, he couldn't say no.


End file.
